Dog-racing apparatus



Jan; 3, 1928.

T. H. MocLAlN ET AL DOG RACING APPARATUS Filed April 15. 1927 Patented Jan. 3, 1928.

*UNITED sursis PA-TENT OFFIcaf THOMASKH. MecLAINQoF CLIFFSIDE PARK, Nnwzriinsnir; AND nonERTDURDETTE DALE, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.v7 AssiGNoRs To Miiiiron J. GORDON, or NEW YORK, N. y.

DOG-RACING APrARA'TUs.

Application. ined April i5, iarj. `Sausalito.,1811,055.

Thisinvention relates to dog-racing stadia suchfas have lately come to be rather widely used for amusement enclosures wherein grey hounds or k.other dogsrace arounda prede- -5 terinined path, hereinafter called the running path or course, in a speed conteststimulated by an artificial rabbit or other lure carried around the course ahead of the dogs. i

Ina racing contest of this kind, the lure is commonly mounted onone yend of a support the othei` end of which is'connected to a carrier means adapted to Sweep the supvport and lure along Vthe course at a highrate of speed. p

One of the object-s of the present iiivention is to provide a very lightweight lure and yet one which may be otherwise entirely ysatisfactory both as` to wind-withstanding ability, and as to having the proper rotundity 20 or thickness transverse to its direction of travel to maintain a highly deceptive resemblance to 'a live animal. l

Sometimes the support is extended horizontallyfover the course, the carrier then usually running on tracks in a trench alongside the course. Sometimes, the support eX- te-nds upwardly through a .slot along the course, the carrier being in a tunnel or chamber below the course. In bothl of these cases, it is desirable, as forinstanceby a suitable mechanism such as isV disclosed andclaimed in copendingl application Ser. No.18fili,0t ,3, kfiled April 15. 1927to withdrawithe normally exposed l part of the support andythe` lure thereon from reach by the dogs, as when,

due to some fault in the equipment, the carrier slows down below a permissible'minimum speed.y The object of this is to prevent the valuable dogs from injuring themselves 40 byv dash-ing againstthe support,` and also to protect them from catching the lure andl thus learning rthat the object of their pursuit durend of the ysupport passed through the slot during withdrawal of the supportfrom Y the course, the lure may also be withdrawn througlisaid slot. n Y I i'tnother object is toprovide a lure as last described and means associated therewith suoli that collapse ofthe lure is automatic and comparatively instantaneous on a movement lof the support relative to the carrier and to withdraw the support from the course tliioughtl'ie, slot or equivalent. ,A

Another object is toprovide an air inflatable lure which may have as its eoveringa piece of fuiypreferably the skin ofy a real .rabbit or` the like which has been killed, and

yet alure casing whicliniay be maintained inflated withoutv relying on the casing itself vas the air-tight c'oniiner ofthe inflating fluid.

.4 Anotherobjec'tis to provide alure as last described, and onel wherein an air-tight 'liner landcontaiiier for the inflating fluid need nothe speciallymadeor of a shape conforming closelyto the hollow interiorv ofthe animal vskin ',-whe'n eipanded tof life-like 10 tundity. K Y. j Various other objectsaiid advantages of Vthe invention than those hereinabove mentioned `will be4 speciiically pointed out or will be apparent hereinafter, in the course of the belown detailedy description `of the form rof the invention shown in the accompanying drawing, a preferred rone of the variousl pos,- sibleemhodim-ents of the inventiongit being understood@naturally, that such form is merely yillustrative of one of the many possible 'combinations andlarrangements of parts whereby kthek objects ofthe invention may be attained,l and'hence said detailed description of such forinis notrto be taken as at all .dey fiifiirig` lor limiting the, invention itself. That tosay,` the scope of protection contemplatedis` ofcoursertov be"k taken from the ap\ jpended claims, interpreted asbroadly `as is consistent with the prior art.v

In the accompanying drawing: l

Fig.- lis view partiallyrin `top plan and partially in horizontal section, and showing details ona very much-enlarged scale, taken approximately on the. line 1 1 of Fig. 4;;

Fig-.g2 isjinthe maiii-,a".horizontal axial y.section takensubstantially on the line of Fig.y 3, butshowing only the outer end of. thev lure support, thatis, the left end thereof.v as seen in Fig. 5,and not showing .thepartsof Fig. 1 illustrated Fig. Sas

latch-coupled in said end ofV said support;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 5, but of course on the same scale as Figs. 1 and Q'and hence on a much larger scale than that of Fig. 5;

Fig. i is a vertical section taken on line eis-4i of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan view, partially broken away and partially in section, showing a part of the truck or other carrier which runs alongside the course and other parts carried bysuch truck including the lure and a support therefor of the type adapted to be extended over and transverse to the course and to be swung about a vertical axis on the truck to withdraw the support and lure from the course on the occurrence of an emergency suoli as already hereinabove referred to, e. a failure of the motive power or equipment for the truck.

Similar reference characters refer to simi- `lar parts, throughout the several views of rthe drawing.

Referring rst to Fig. 5.r a portion of the truck is indicated at; (i. This truck carries a horizontally extending arm-like support 7 for the lure 8, here shown as a rabbit. Assuming the rabbit 8 to be headed as indicated in Fig. 5, the truck path of travel. on suitable guiding means-(not shown) will be as indicated by the arrow 9. Then, the support 7 will be extended transverse to the Y course 10, or, with the truck 6 and support 7 associated with means for withdrawing the arm and lure from the dogs on the support of the truck dropping below a permissible minimum, the arm will be normally extended as shown in Fig. 5 but adapted to be swung to extend in the direction of the arrow 9 on a quarter revolution cf a disc 11 pivoted at 12 on the truck chassis and forming a part of a suitable mechanism for thus swinging the support 7 when the speedof the truck drops below a permissible minimum.

The swinging niechanismgmentioned may be that disclosed and claimed in the aforesaid copending application; in which 'application the carrierillustrated is a familiar ltype of a small electric truck, having four wheels travelling on a railway track surrounding the running path or course, carrying a motor receiving currentfrom a third rail, and moving through a trench at one -side of the course along the length thereof such casing contains an inflatable liner or air coniiner preferably present as an ordinary bicycle inner tube 14 as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 4. A hole, indicated at 141'h1 in Fig. 1, is cut through the skin, for the protrusion of the valve housing' commercially carried bv these tubes. Such housing is indicated at l5.

Referring to Figs. 1, 3, l and 5. a light metal circular plate 16, having a central opening 17 for the protrusion of valve housing l5. has a series of circumferentially arran1 ed apertures 18LL by which the plate may be stitched to the skin 13 as indicated at 1f). Opening` 17 is surrounded by an outwardly extended sleeve 23 having opposite longitudinal slots 23 to provide outwardly projecting somewhat resilient prongs or tines Q3. These tines carry transverse oppositely outwardlyprojecting pins 18, and ay their free ends are shaped to present projections as shown at 19a in Fig. l.

Referring next to Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, the arm or support 7 includes an outer tube or sleeve 2O having; at its outer end, that is. at its left end as viewed in Fig. 5, features of construction shawn mostclearly in Fig. 2.

At each side or the tube or sleeve 20, and in the same horizontal plane, the sleeve is provided atv its outer or lnre-inouiiting end with a pair of longitudinal slots 21 adapted to receive pins 18 as shown best in Fig. 3, and this end of the Isleeve 20 is also provided, beyondthe inner ends of slots 21,' with a pair of keeper recesses 22 for projections 19. These projections. due to the resilient yieldal'iility of the root portions of tines 23, snap-latch into locking engagement with the recesses Q2when theparts shown in Fi g. Q have been move-d to the left to telescope completely the sleeve 23 of Fig. 1 and so dispose the pins 18 in the slots 21 at the inner Aends of the latter. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that the pins 18 are not snugly tted in slots Q1. This is to permit the necessary play between the parts to allow the lure to besnap-latched on the outer end of support 7 as just described. and also to permit th'elure to be readily remo-ved from the outer end of thesuiiiport, b v pressing` the outer end of the pins 18 toward each other to slightly spring in the tines 23; ready attachment and detachment of the lure relatii'e to the support 7 being desirable at times. as to inflate or reiuflate the tubing 1-1- whenever required. In order, however. to squarely and solidly mount the lure on the outer end of the support7, the outer vend of the tube 20, at top and bottom, that is. at opposite sides of the plane ofthe slots 21, is provided with a pair of plate extensions Qll. Each such extension has a hole, as marked at 25 in 2, into which fit with rigidifyingsnugness a pair of projections or posts 25a on plate 16,-when the parts of CIK Y 26 is moved to the left in Figs. 2 and 5. Any

suitable means may be provided for .thus actuating the rod or an equivalent; butV in the present case, which illustrates an embodi- V ment of the invention wherein thelure is designed to be deflated automaticallj7 incident te a relative movement between the support 7 and the truck 6, and where the truck 6 is for example of the type already described, the lure deilating means includes the parts already referred to, and also the following. The inner end of the support 7, or rather of an outer tube 20,is screwed into a nippley 29 formed integral with a bracket 30 secured to the support with-L drawing disc 1l'. Within the nipple chamber'is a collar l'secured on rod 26, such collar vcoaeting withjthe wall 30n of the bracket to limit the movement ofthe rod V26 to the right axially of tube 20, and

there isalso in said chamber an expansile coil spring 32 arranged always to urge said rod to the kextreme of such rightward movement. Fixed to a suitable support 33 suitably secured in a manner not shown to the truck body, is a cam 34; having a nose 3ft-n. This nose is so positioned that on a swinging movement of support 7 relative to the truck, in the direction ofthe arrow shown on disc 1l, the part 26a of rod 26 projecting inwardly toward the center of rotation of the disc, will` engage said nose. Thereby, incidental to said swinging movement of support .7, the; rod 26 will be moved axially of sleevek 20, against spring 32, and in a direction to cause the pin 27 of Fig. 2te engage the stem 26 of Fig. l and bring about complete deflation of the lure by the time the support 7 has finished its swinging movement.y Parts 35 are provided in tube 2O as shown in 2 to allow for the escape of the inflation air ofthe lure.

Inasmuch as many changes could be made in the above construction, and many ap parently Awidely different embodiments of theinvention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above dej scription or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.y y

It is also to be.. understood that the language contained in the following claims is intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described.k

and all statements ofthe scope of the invention which, as a matter. of language,

might be said to fall therebetween. We claim: l

1..In dog racing apparatus, wherein a V Vsupport and the lure may be withdrawn from the running track and through said slot to the rail-track side of said wall, and means for thus withdrawing the lure with said support and at the same time permitting said slot `to be of a width too small to permit a dog to injure himself thereagainst and too small to permit the lure as run over the course to pass through said slot with the support, said means including a hollow inflated lure, and meansfor deiiating the lure on moving the support relative tothe carrier. Y

2. In dog racing apparatus, wherein a running track for dogs is arranged alongside a rail-track for a wheeled carrier having a laterally projecting lure support, the combination with such carrier of a lure support comprising' a comparatively long rigid arm laterally odset from the carrier, and a lure on the outer end of said arm simulating a live animal, said lure being of hollow construction'and air inflated, said lure having a cover of limp material and an inllatable rubber liner of ringshaped type folded on itself in said cover.v

3. In a dog racing apparatus, a movable carrier, an inflatable member supported laterally and distantly therefrom and constituting the lure, said member being adapted for movement to and from said carrier, and means for automatically deflating said member upon a movement of said member toward said carrier.

Trios. H. MGGLAIN. ROBERT BURDETTE DALE. 

